Criteria

Institution offers at least one immersive, sustainability-focused educational study program. The program is one week or more in length and may take place off-campus, overseas, or on-campus.

For this credit, the program must meet one or both of the following criteria:

It concentrates on sustainability, including its social, economic, and environmental dimensions

And/or

It examines an issue or topic using sustainability as a lens.

For-credit programs, non-credit programs and programs offered in partnership with outside entities may count for this credit. Programs offered exclusively by outside entities do not count for this credit.

See the Credit Example in the STARS Technical Manual for further guidance.

Applicability

This credit applies to all institutions that offer immersive educational programs.

Scoring

Institutions earn 2 points for meeting the criteria outlined above. Partial points are not available for this credit.

Measurement

Timeframe

Programs offered during the three years prior to the anticipated date of submission are eligible for this credit.

Sampling and Data Standards

Not applicable

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution and complete the Data Inquiry Form.

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System

(STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and
universities to measure their sustainability performance.